'This could be huge.' Should a Fresno County farmer get $3.7 million for fruitless harvest?

[TexasTowelie]

Four years ago, Kingsburg farmer Paul Willems says he bought thousands of blueberry plants from an Oregon nursery owner who promised the plants would produce an early season crop of big juicy berries.

But after planting, watering and waiting, he maintains the supposedly hearty plants looked sick. Willems’ said his dream of having a bounty of ripe berries to sell when market prices are the highest was turning into a nightmare.

Those statements and others come from a lawsuit filed by Willems against Oregon-based Gabriel Farms doing business as Oregon Blueberry Farms and Nursery.

The plants allegedly were developing slowly and failing to produce berries. At their worst, some of the plants were so feeble they snapped off at the root line, the suit says.

Read more: https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article249023985.html

[Proud liberal 80]

1. I don't know intricate details involved with farming and the government

But it seems to me that paying farmers is one of the biggest welfare systems that we have in this country...and must farmers seem to be white Republicans and the type of people who complain about ‘others’ getting money and how they were pulled up by their bootstraps.

[Squinch]

2. This is about the guy suing the farm who sold him the plants, though.

But I totally agree. We REALLY need to revisit our farm subsidy program.

[bullimiami]

4. i think he would have to prove the plants were not what they purported to be and that caused

the failure.

The seller would just have to cast doubt on whatever proof the farmer produced since there are many factors apart from the plant stock itself.

Also, did they sell the same plants elsewhere? Also failed or not?

[Squinch]

5. Did you mean to post this to me?

[bullimiami]

6. not in particular. it was just a comment on the thread.

[Backseat Driver]

3. Lots of missing information in the article

I assume the farmer knew what hybrid(?) blueberries required to thrive? I've purchased blueberry plants at nurseries thinking I'd get nice berries in my north 40 inch garden, LOL! There are some varieties that require windblown pollination with a different variety, others depend on insects (bees) to fruit successfully; blueberry plants also require acidic soil that require soil amendment in my location. Soils could also contain pathogenic microbes that attack plants. In general, some decline when planted in the wrong location and dislike having a soggy root system or won't survive long in drought conditions, and, yes, it's also possible that propagation technique could have been a factor in failure to fruit.

That said, IME, said plants, whether planted in-ground or in-container did not provide me but a few berries that birds quickly carried off. Despite the baby-ing I tried, my dream of blueberry muffins full of self-grown juicy berries early in the season on the patio never worked out and the plants, over several seasons, never thrived. That said, I never bought thousands of plants hoping for a bonanza gold mine to send to market.

SMH...